Fuel injection valve for use in a liquefied gas lighter



KUNIO IKEDA 3,133,565

FUEL INJECTION VALVE FOR USE IN A LIQUEFIED GAS LIGHTER May 19, 1964Filed Dec. 4, 1962 a a 6 a) nvI/ United States Patent 3,133,565 FUELINJECTION VALVE FOR USE IN A LHQUEFIED GAS LIGHTER Kunio Ikeda,Kugahara-cho, Ohta-ku, Tokyo, Japan Filed Dec. 4, 1962, Ser. No. 242,264Claims priority, application Japan Oct. 30, 1962 1 Claim. ((31. 141-293)The present invention relates to an improvement of a fuel injectionvalve mounted on a fuel tank of a liquefied gas lighter. That is, in thepresent invention, an opening to the fuel tank of the injection valve isdivided into upper and lower sections by means of a floating packingring of an annular form when the fuel is to be injected. Accordingly,the fuel is injected from its first passage or its lower section of theopening into the tank and the air in the tank escapes into the open airthrough the upper section of the opening.

. Further, when a predetermined quantity of the fuel has been injectedinto the tank, the fuel is injected from the second passage or the uppersection of the opening into the open air, so as not to inject any fuelinto the tank, beyond the predetermined quantity, whereby a danger ofsurplus injection of fuel into the tank is entirely avoided.

In the injection valve of the prior liquefied gas lighter, a fuelinjection valve and an air escape valve, which serves the purpose ofdischarging air present in the fuel tank into the open air and also tooverflow any fuel beyond the predetermined quantity to be injected intothe fuel tank, have been individually provided for. However, theprovision of the fuel injection opening and the air escape opening inthe relatively small valve part requires not only a skilled technique,but also makes it very difficult to manufacture and to assemble.

It is, therefore, the main object of the present invention to provide afuel injection valve for use in a liquefied gas lighter in which a fuelinjection opening and an air escape opening are not made separately, butonly one opening or a window, formed inan outer sleeve, is divided intoa fuel injection opening section and an air escape opening section bymeans of a floating packing ring of an annular form cooperating with theouter sleeve, so as to simplify its manufacturing difliculties.

With this and other objects in view, which will become apparent in thefollowing detailed description, the present invention will be clearlyunderstood in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a liquefied gas lighterdesigned according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a liquefied gas lighterdesigned according to the present invention in the position of fuelinjection.

Referring now to the drawing, a fuel tank a of a gas lighter of thepresent invention comprises a sleeve I mounted on a wall of the fueltank a at its open end and a valve element 2 is movably fixed through anaxial hole 3 perforated in a blind'bottom plate of the sleeve 1. Thevalve element 2 has an annular flange 4 at its intermediate length andis forced upwardly by means of a coil spring 5 engaging the bottomsurface of the flange 4 and the upper surface of the bottom of thesleeve 1. An annular packing ring 6, which is fitted on the valve element 2, is urged to be pressed upwardly by the upper surface of theflange 4 when the valve element 2 is forced resiliently upwardly, andabuts an annular edge 8 formed on a downward projection of an annularwall 7 which is formed at the inner circumference of the sleeve 1.

An inlet opening 9 is formed axially through the valve element 2, theopen end of which is disposed at the top 10 of the valve element 2. Theother end of the inlet opening 9 leads into radial bores 9' at theintermediate length of the valve element 2. This horizontal radial bore9' is directed against the inner annular circumference of the packingring 6, when the valve element 2 is raised upwardly, as above described.Accordingly, the fuel tank a is fully closed from the open air by theengagement of the packing ring 6 at the annular edge 8.

A top part 10 of the valve element 2 has a reduced diameter, which toppart 10 is adapted to be received in an inner bore of an injectionnozzle 31 of a preliminary fuel tank 30 (FIG. 2). When fuel is to beinjected into the tank a, the injection nozzle 31 of the preliminaryfuel tank is fitted on the top part 10 of the valve element 2, as shownin FIG. 2, and is pressed down against the action of the coil spring 5,the valve element 2 being lowered until a shoulder formed on a lowerpart 11 of the valve element 2 having a reduced diameter, abuts theblind bottom surface.

In this state, the horizontal radial bore 9' is disposed opposite thelower part of a window 12 formed on the peripheral side of the sleeve 1.In order to put the horizontal radial bore 9 of the inlet opening 9correctly for the window 12, it is desirable that a hole 3, provided inthe blind bottom plate of the sleeve 2, is made of an angular shape andthe part 11 of the valve element 2 is of correspondingly slightlysmaller shape than that of the hole 3. In this case the floating packingring 6 is lowered by the lowering of the valve element 2 to theintermediate height of that of the window 12, so as to divide the window12 into an upper part and a lower part in the sleeve 2. For thispurpose, a shoulder 13 is formed in an inner circumference of the sleeve2 at the intermediate height of the window 12, so as to stop thelowering of the floating packing ring 6, which is lowered while sittingon the upper surface of the flange 4 simultaneously with the lowering ofthe valve element 2. Thus, the floating packing ring 6 is held on theshoulder 13 in such position, that it assumes a given position dividingthe upper part from the lower part of the sleeve 2 corresponding tothose of the Window 12. By such arrangement, the horizontal radial bore9' opens up in the sleeve 1, below the packing ring 6.

Since the floating packing ring 6 is fitted on the reduced neck portion14 of the valve element 2 above the upper surface of the .flange 4, thevalve element 2 only is further lowered and when the shoulder on thereduced part 11 abuts the blind bottom plate, the valve element 2 isprevented from a further lowering movement. In this state, the floatingpacking ring 6 is pressed by the upper shoulder of the reduced part 14on the shoulder 13 at the inner circumference of the sleeve 1, so that afloating of the packing ring 6 is entirely avoided.

Consequently, when the pressing by the preliminary fuel injection tank30 is further continued, the nozzle 31 is withdrawn into the fuelinjection tank 30 against the action of a coil spring 32 and fuel in thefuel injection tank 30 is injected from the nozzle 31 through the inletopening 9, the horizontal radial bores 9 and the lower part of thewindow 12 into the tank a, while air escapes through the upper part ofthe window 12 to the atmosphere.

For this arrangement, the injection of fuel is effected rapidly and atthe same time, the escape of air from the tank is not prevented by theinjection of fuel, rather the injection of fuel and the escape of airare effected simultaneously. Further, the pressing of the packing ring 6by means of the upper shoulder of the reduced neck portion 14 againstthe shoulder 13 of the sleeve 1 ensures that a floating of the packingring during the injection of fuel and the escape of air is entirelyavoided.

When the level of fuel in the tank a reaches that of the packing ring 6,the fuel overflows through the upper part of the window 12 above thepacking ring 6 to the open air, and the valve element 2 is raised by theaction of the coil spring 5 upon pulling out of the nozzle 31 of thepreliminary fuel tank 30 from the valve element 2, and thus, all theparts are restored to their original positions, so as to restore thelighter to its closed state. Further, as a variation, the packing ring 6may be closely fitted to the inner circumference of the sleeve 1 andalso be loosely fitted to the valve element 2.

Also, the packing ring 6 may be loosely fitted for the innercircumference of the sleeve 1 and be closely fitted for the outercircumference of the valve element 2.

Further, in the sleeve 1, two windows may be formed if desired oppositeto each other, and also two opposite horizontal radial bores 9' may beformed in communication with the axial inlet opening 9.

In brief, the prevent invention may be modified suitably withoutdeparting from the essential feature thereof. While I have disclosed oneembodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood that thisembodiment is given by example only and not in a limiting sense, thescope of the present invention being determined bythe objects and theclaim,

I claim: A fuel injection valve for use in a liquefied gas lightercomprising a sleeve having an open end adapted to be mounted on the wallsurface of a fuel tank of a gas lighter and having a blind bottom plateat its opposite end,

said sleeve having at least one single window disposed intermediate itsends in its peripheral wall to provide communication between said fueltank and the inner space of said sleeve,

said sleeve having further an annular wall terminating into an axiallydirected projection pointing towards said blind bottom plate anddefining an aperture in its center,

said annular wall extending substantially radially inwardly from a pointof said sleeve disposed between its open end and said window,

said sleeve having also a shoulder at about the center of said window,

a resiliently biased valve element disposed in and axially movablerelative to said sleeve between closed and open positions and having inits outer portion an axially disposed inlet bore terminating in at leastone radially disposed bore terminating at the periphery of said valveelement,

said valve element having a neck portion extending axially outwardlyfrom about said radial bore for an axial length shorter than the axiallength of said window,

said valve element having further an annular flange disposed axiallyinwardly from said radial bore,

a floating packing ring surrounding said neck portion of said valveelement to close said radial bore of said valve element in the closedposition of the latter and axially movable along said neck portionrelative to said valve element as well as relative to said sleeve, and

said valve element having its inner end portion a shoulder adapted tolimit the axial inward movement of said valve element from its closed toits open position,

said floating packing ring being moved axially from its closing positionsimultaneously with the axial movement of said valve member uponengagement of the latter with a filling container until said floatingpacking ring is stopped by engagement with said shoulder of said sleeve,thereby dividing said window into an upper part and a lower part, and

said valve element continuing its axial movement until its shoulderengages said blind bottom plate, thereby exposing the emerging end ofsaid radial bore of said valve element to the lower part of said window,while the upper part of said window communicates with the free air, and

said floating packing ring engaging the outer face of said annularflange of said valve element and said axially directed projection ofsaid annular wall of the sleeve, in the closed position of said valveelement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS3,044,503 Iketani July 17, 1962 3,044,505 Iketani July 17, 19623,072,157 Iketani Jan. 8, 1963 3,085,601 Zellweger Apr. 16, 1963

